The threat of a terrorist attack in the Netherlands is higher than ever, according to the government’s counter-terrorism chief Tjibbe Joustra in an interview with the Volkskrant on Thursday.

At the moment, the threat level is at its second highest level of ‘substantial’, the same as it was three years ago when Samir Azzouz was jailed for nine years for membership of a terrorist organisation.
But Joustra told the Volkskrant the threat level should be ‘substantial plus’.
He does not say what the threat is, but does say that the Netherlands is now being specifically mentioned in terrorist communications. That was not the case three years ago.
Joustra says Geert Wilders’ film Fitna is the main reason for the heightened threat of a terrorist attack.
The anti-terrorism chief will step down on January 1 2009 to become chairman of the umbrella organisation for agriculture Productschap Tuinbouw.
Although several people have been jailed for planning terrorist attacks in the Netherlands there have not been any terror-related bombings or killings in the Netherlands in recent years.
Film maker Theo van Gogh was murdered by Islamic fundamentalist Mohammed Bouyeri in 2004.